Aquaporin based thin film composite membranes

1. A thin film composite membrane comprising:

a microporous substrate;

a thin selective layer supported by the microporous substrate, wherein the thin selective layer incorporates amphiphilic vesicles formed from lipids and the amphiphilic vesicles are immobilized in the thin selective layer within a polyamide film, wherein said lipids consist of DPhPC (1,2-diphytanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) and/or DOPC (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), wherein said amphiphilic vesicles contain aquaporin water channels and further comprise cholesterol in the range of more than 30 molar % and up to 40 molar % of the volume of the lipids, wherein said aquaporin water channels are present in a protein to lipid molar ratio in the range of from about 1:20 to about 1:500, wherein the thin selective layer is configured to exclude divalent ions in water from getting into direct contact with the amphiphilic vesicles containing the aquaporin water channels; and

a coating layer on the thin selective layer, wherein the coating layer consists of a hydrogel, wherein the hydrogel consists of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP),

wherein the thin film composite membrane is able to withstand a high pressure of 200 psi.

2. The thin film composite membrane of claim 1 , wherein said thin selective layer is formed through the interfacial polymerization of an aqueous solution of an amine with a solution of an acid chloride in an organic solvent, and wherein amphiphilic aquaporin vesicles are incorporated in said aqueous solution.

3. The thin film composite membrane according to claim 2 , wherein said amine is meta-phenylenediamine, said acid chloride is trimesoylchloride, and said organic solvent is n-hexane or cyclohexane.

4. The thin film composite membrane according to claim 1 , wherein said aquaporin water channels are functional natural or synthetic aquaporin or aquaglyceroporin water channels.

5. The thin film composite membrane according to claim 4 wherein said aquaporin water channels are aquaporin Z (AqpZ), GlPf (an E. coli glycerol facilitator), SoPIP2;1 (a plant aquaporin), aquaporin 1, or aquaporin 2.

6. The thin film composite membrane according to claim 1 , wherein said microporous substrate is selected from the group consisting of polysulfone and polyethersulfone membranes.

7. A process of preparing the thin film composite membrane of claim 1 through interfacial polymerization, comprising the steps of:

providing a suitable microporous support membrane;

applying an aqueous mixture of amine solution and concentrated vesicles solution having incorporated aquaporins to at least one surface of said microporous support membrane to allow soaking of said microporous support membrane, wherein said vesicles solution contains aquaporin water channels and further comprises cholesterol in the range of more than 30 molar % and up to 40 molar % of the lipid volume, wherein said lipids consist of DPhPC (1,2-diphytanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) and/or DOPC (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), and wherein said aquaporin water channels are present in a protein to lipid molar ratio in the range of from about 1:20 to about 1:500;

applying an acyl chloride solution in an organic solvent to said soaked membrane to obtain a formation of a thin polyamide layer having immobilized vesicles, wherein the thin polyamide layer is configured to exclude divalent ions in water from getting into direct contact with the immobilized vesicles containing the aquaporin water channels; and

applying a coating layer on the thin polyamide layer to form a hydrogel thereon, wherein the hydrogel consists of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP).

8. The process according to claim 7 , wherein said amine is meta-phenylenediamine and wherein said acyl chloride is trimesoyl chloride.

9. A process comprising: filtering water through a thin film composite membrane of claim 1 by an osmosis process.

10. The process of claim 9 wherein the osmosis process is forward osmosis, reverse osmosis or pressure retarded osmosis.